Revelations
by pokemon-finatic
Summary: We join May on her quest to find the perfect, new performance outfit. But when she runs into Drew, our favorite coordinator's latest expedition takes a turn for the...unexpected. Contestshipping


**A/N: So...I didn't get this up in time for Valentine's Day and therefore it is not a Valentine's Fic. But, I still liked it and decided to put it up anyway :D I tried my hardest to write a fic that wasn't depressing in any way, shape, or form (I've noticed that my fics always seem to end up that way one time or another...) **

**When you're reading the part with all the dashes (you'll understand when you get to it), imagine that there are no dashes and all the words are stuck together in a stream of letters you'd have to work REALLY hard to understand (FanFiction won't let me type it that way...it replaces it with commas...sigh)**

**Anyways, hope you enjoy it. Happy Reading!**

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_**~Revelations~**_

"Hm…oh the blue one is nice—the way the skirt flows…Oh, but the purple one! That has to be the most beautiful of them all…so sparkly…so frilly…Oh, but look at that adorable pink one, with the flowers all over it…" May sighed, her nose shoved into the glass of the clothing store's window. Her eyes wandered from dress to dress, each more stunning than the last.

"And look at that green one! That glimmering, shimmering, green one." She said softly, imagining herself twirling in it, the spotlight shining down on her like her own shining star… Her eyes landed on the price tags and she groaned.

"So much for that." She grumbled.

"So much for what, exactly?" she jumped, and would have screamed if she hadn't immediately recognized the voice. Instead, she glowered.

"Drew! Don't scare me like that!" she cried, noticing the bemused look on his face. "It isn't funny," she added. He snickered.

"Of course it was. Otherwise I wouldn't have done it." he shot back, flicking his hair from his face. Her eyes narrowed and she started down the street. He, obviously not taking the hint, followed her.

"What are you doing, anyway?" he asked. She sighed, deciding to humor him.

"Shopping."

"For..?"

"For a new outfit for contests. Happy?" she asked. He frowned.

"You don't need a new outfit." He said, gesturing to the clothes she was wearing, "You already bought this one. How many outfits does a girl need?" For a moment, she thought he was kidding. But when she saw how sincere his face was, she burst into laughter.

"Do I _really_ have to answer that?" she asked.

"Good point." He sighed, smirking at her.

"I think I'll take a look at this one." She said, stopping in front of a, much less expensive, clothing store.

"Alright. Mind if I follow you?" she sent him a puzzled look and he shrugged. "What can I say? There isn't much to do and you're somewhat interesting." He smirked as she fumed.

"Fine. But only because you're at least _trying_ to be nice." She said. He laughed as she slammed open the door. As she flipped through the racks, she grumbled something about how he would never actually succeed at being nice and he rolled his eyes.

"Is that so?" he asked as he passed her, tucking a fresh rose behind her ear. He could practically feel the heat from her blushing cheeks on his back as he walked away. Trying desperately to hide it from his retreating figure she ducked her head, sliding the rose into her bag. She managed one last smile before returning to her straight face.

She returned her attention to the racks while her fingers flipped each costume over, one by one. She would remove a sparkly one here, a wavy one there. Mostly dresses, she hadn't put much effort into putting together a full ensemble. Not until a certain salmon top caught her eye, that is. She hadn't noticed the dresses that slipped from her fingers, the clatter of the hangers as they fell to the floor. She immediately tore the shirt's hanger from the rack, her eyes wide. She had seen a skirt earlier that would match this perfectly. She ran over to the shelves by the front of the store, reaching to dig through the piles of costume pieces until she found what she was looking for. As her hand pulled up a mass of salmon cloth she grinned.

Now all she needed was an accessory. She was about to raid the pile of headbands when the world around her was replaced with the very salmon she was searching for. She squeaked in surprise, hearing Drew snicker through the cloth he had thrown in her face. She ripped it away, her glare meeting his emerald gaze. Before she could question him, he shrugged.

"Looked like it'd match." He said, his eyes teasing. After a moment, she grinned.

"It does!" she cried, giggling.

"Well let's get this over with." He sighed, but she had already darted to the changing room before he'd finished his sentence. She didn't wait for any of his snide remarks as she tumbled into the small room, slamming the door shut behind her. She quickly exchanged her orange shirt for the salmon one. She paused to make sure it fit her right. She smiled at what she saw and continued on, exchanging her shorts and bag for the skirt. Her grin widened and she twirled, letting the cloth of the skirt billow about her ankles. She picked up the headdress, the last piece she had to try. Sighing, she reluctantly removed her green bandana.

"_Thank Arceus Drew can't see my hair _now_…he'd never let me live it down…"_ she thought as her hair frizzed in every which way. Quickly, she replaced the bandana with the headdress. At least Drew had succeeded at something today; it actually matched the outfit perfectly. She smiled, giving herself another twirl and giggling as the headdress billowed more than her skirt. She took one last look at herself before she turned to the door and slowly opened it.

Drew was sitting in a nearby chair, looking extremely bored. She grinned as she stepped out of the dressing room.

"Well?" she asked. His eyes met hers, the look they were sending that prepared her for one of the remarks she'd avoided earlier immediately disappearing as he stared blankly at her. She waited, and yet he still didn't answer.

"Drew? How do I look?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. He blinked and opened his mouth. Yet no words came. She sighed, turning around to open the door.

"Beautiful…"

"What was that?" she asked, turning slowly back to him. He averted his gaze as a light blush formed on his cheeks.

"I…I said…you look…beautiful." He said. She felt her cheeks burning as an uncontrollable smile tugged at the edges of her mouth. She took a deep breath, to keep herself from squealing as she answered him.

"Thank you…Drew." She said. He nodded, his cheeks turning crimson. She shakily made her way back into the dressing room. The door closed behind her with a soft "click." She leaned against it, sliding to the floor. Her rosy-cheeked reflection stared back at her. Beautiful? He thought she was…beautiful? Never in her life could she remember a compliment from Drew, much less that he thought she was _beautiful_.

She melted into a round of giggles as she realized how much she had to buy the outfit she was wearing. When she exited the room, fully clothed in her everyday orange and green, Drew had gone. For a moment, she thought he had left the store completely. But as she reached the checkout desk, she found him waiting for her, looking as calm and collected as ever. He said nothing as she purchased her outfit, but he remained by her side as she exited the store and started toward the Pokemon Center.

"Where are you going now?" he asked, finally, as they crossed a street.

"I was thinking the Pokemon Center. I just got in town and I should probably get a room before any of the other contestants arrive. Drew smirked and she found herself falling back into their normal routine.

"What?" she huffed, he shook his head.

"Already beat you to it." he said. She rolled her eyes.

"I didn't mean you, Drew. I always expect you to beat me." She scowled. His smirk widened.

"That's just because you're slower than a Slowpoke." He said.

"Jerk…" she grumbled. He laughed.

"Oh, come on. You know it's true." He teased, his emerald eyes gleaming. She sighed, suddenly finding herself not in the mood. She shut her eyes, relaxing as the breeze caressed her and the sunlight warmed her.

"Nice day, huh?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yes. Nicest day in a while." They walked in silence. May had always enjoyed Drew's company, although she would never tell _him_ that. She was content with the silence, as long as he didn't get bored and leave. Still, the peaceful atmosphere would have been more enjoyable if a certain question wasn't nagging her from the back of her mind. She sighed, knowing she couldn't avoid asking it.

"Did you mean it?" she asked softly. She knew without looking that he was frowning.

"What? That you're slower than a Slowpoke? Of course I—"

"No. Back in the store." She interrupted. The silence returned, this time with an uncomfortable air to it. She could sense him shifting next to her.

"…Yes." He said finally. She felt as if her heart would explode from within her chest. He thought she was beautiful? He really truly did? Was she dreaming? May, being as skeptical as she was, found herself pinching her arm. She squeaked when the sudden, searing, pain resulted from it.

"_Nope, not dreaming."_ She thought, more than aware of the strange look Drew was sending her.

"Um…May?" he asked. She giggled nervously.

"Yes? I wasn't doing anything weird. Nope, not weird at all!" she blurted. He blinked, staring at her as if she'd just grown another head.

"I didn't say anything about acting weirdly, May..." he said. She sighed, trying to control the thousands of Butterfree that flitted about her stomach. Why was this happening?

"You were thinking it." she said, trying to recover with a joke. She felt relief wash over her as he smirked.

"Well, yes. And you seem to understand that it was strange, so why don't you explain to me exactly what it was you were doing?" he offered. She bit her lip, wishing he hadn't said that.

"Well…uh…um…er…you see…I was…I mean I…stepped…on…a rock?" she answered, knowing she hadn't convinced him.

"Then why didn't you lift your foot from the ground? It's a reflex, May." Drew teased, his smirk widening. Wasn't he just calling her beautiful?

"Um…well then…my reflexes…just…must really suck!" May concluded. Just then, something red flew toward her face. Instinctively, she grabbed it. He had thrown a second rose to her. He snickered as she realized what had happened.

"They seem fine to me." He laughed. She felt her face burning again.

"Hm…that's funny! They weren't working a second ago!" she said, continuing to laugh nervously. He sighed.

"Oh come on, May. Out with it." he said. His tone was tired and annoyed, but she could see his eyes twinkling with amusement.

If tormenting was a sport, she'd give him a gold medal.

"I-was-just-pinching-my-arm-because-I-never-thought-I-would-ever-hear-you-compliment-me, much-less-call-me-beautiful-which-made-me-really-really-happy-and-I-am-embarrassed-to-tell-you, ok?" she blurted. His stare was blank. He blinked and nodded.

"Ok…now English please." He said. She felt her face burn more and a smirk was tugging at the corner of his lips. She took a deep breath, trying to think of how she could possibly take what she'd just said and make it any easier to understand without embarrassing herself.

"I love you." She blurted, shocking herself. He gaped at her, his eyes wide as saucers. Why had she said that? Oh why oh why? Love him? That was crazy talk! She was supposed to make this situation _better_, not WORSE! She was blushing madly, and tried to stutter out anything that could possibly help her.

But, alas, the humiliation of it all had taken away her ability to speak.

"W-What did you say?" he spluttered. She wanted to crawl into the smallest, darkest, farthest away hole she could find.

"I, uh, said, um, well…er…I…loath you?" she wanted to slap herself. He hated her. He had to, and now he hated her more. Loath? _Loath_? No, never ever…she couldn't, she wouldn't. She just…he was just so…when she was with him…it was just that she…she…she…loved him. Her eyes widened, how could she have denied it before? Suddenly it was so obvious, she wanted to laugh at herself. And then the realization of what she'd just said horrified her. Loath him? Oh, Arceus, that wasn't it at all!

"You…loath me?" he asked, his tone a mix between slight hurt and utter confusion.

"NO!" she cried.

"Uh…ok…then what did you..?"

"I said I l—" she wanted to say it. She really, truly did. But her nerves were binding and gagging her. He would laugh at her…she knew he would…

Then again, he _had_ called her beautiful.

"Yes?" he asked. May opened her mouth, but no words came out. "May…are you alright?"

"YES! No… I don't know." She sighed, defeated. How could she possibly tell him what she was sure he already knew she'd said when she just realized the truth behind it herself? She was starting to wish the hole she would crawl into was all the way in Unova, fully furnished with bed, refrigerator, and TV when she felt herself being jerked forward. Startled, she started to open her mouth to say something—hopefully something that wouldn't make her wish even further that she had the ability to stick her entire foot in her mouth—when she felt his lips on hers. She froze, reaching to pinch herself again and then deciding against it. Instead, she kissed him back, lightheaded and heart soaring. He pulled away, smirking at her.

"You should probably stop talking," He said, teasingly, "You'll only dig yourself into an even deeper hole." She giggled nervously; for the first time, actually_ thanking_ Arceus he could read her mind.

"I love you too." He added, smirking slightly. "And next time I compliment you, please don't pinch yourself."

Truth was, she had been about to do just that.


End file.
